Curve Lake First Nation is currently accepting proposals to conduct a comprehensive community plan. The existing plan was completed in 2009 and an update of data and vision is required. A copy of that document is available in digital format upon request.

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals from various individuals or organizations, conduct a fair and extensive evaluation based on criteria listed herein, and select the candidate who best represents the knowledge and experience needed to complete the task.

Curve Lake First Nation is located on a peninsula situated between Buckhorn Lake, Harrington Narrows and Chemong Lake. It is affiliated with the Union of Ontario Indians and is one of seven Williams Treaty First Nations.

The total registered population of Curve Lake First Nation is 2357. There are 791 members who live on reserve while 1566 live off the reserve.

The Council is comprised of one (1) Chief and eight (8) Councilors.

First Nation operations are currently organized into five departments. These are Finance and Administration, Health and Family Services, Education, Economic Development and Public Works. Curve Lake First Nation employs approximately 95 full time employees and 25 short term contracts and sub-staff.

Several Council committees have been established to assist the operating departments. These include Finance, Health & Family Services, Education, Economic Development, Public Works, Housing, Lands and employee Health and Safety. Additional Council Committees include, Gaming Revenue Fund, Claims, Petroglyphs, Pow Wow, Recreation, Rights and Resources, Youth Council and Organizational Review.

Curve Lake First Nation delivers several essential and non-essential programs and services to both member and non-member residents of the community.

2. PROPOSAL GUIDELINES

This Request for Proposal represents the requirements for an open and competitive process. Proposals will be accepted until 12 pm (noon) Thursday, January 10, 2019. Any proposals received after this date and time will be returned to the sender.

If the individual or organization submitting a proposal must outsource or contract any work to meet the requirements contained herein, this must be clearly stated in the proposal. Additionally, all costs included in proposals must be all-inclusive to include any outsourced or contracted work. Any proposals which call for outsourcing or contracting work must include a name and description of the organizations being contracted.

All costs must be itemized to include an explanation of all fees and costs.

Contract terms and conditions will be negotiated upon selection of the winning bidder for this RFP. All contractual terms and conditions may be subject to review by Curve Lake First Nation legal department and will include scope, budget, schedule, and other necessary items pertaining to the project.

Proposal Inquiries

All questions, requests for information, instructions or clarifications regarding any part of this proposal document must be set out in writing and directed to:

All questions related to this Request for Proposal (RFP) or any clarification with respect to this RFP must be made no later than 3 Business Days prior to the closing date of this RFP in order that staff may have sufficient time to respond. Curve Lake reserves the right to extend the deadline for questions, if required, regarding this RFP.

Written answers or clarifications to issues of substance shall be shared with all Proponents and shall be issued as part of the RFP in the form of an Addendum. This proposal document and all addendum(s), if any, shall also be posted on the First Nation’s web-site.

Please note that the Curve Lake Government Services Building will be closed Dec 21, 2018 at 4:00 to January 2, 2019 at 8:30 and accordingly we will be unavailable to answer enquiries.

Proposal Submissions and Closing Date

The closing date for proposals is set for Thursday January 10, 2019 at noon. Only proposals that are mailed or emailed will be accepted. If packages are mailed, please send 3 copies of the proposal. Packages should be clearly marked Proposal for Community Comprehensive Plan.

CLFN conducted its last Comprehensive Community Plan in 2009. The document provided an overview of our population, our land, the financial position of our organization, the governance structure of Curve Lake with emphasis on the committee system, and a brief vision statement. We believe it is time to update the document and to pay additional attention to governance, community input, and the strategic vision for our community.

Project Description:

The Curve Lake First Nation requires a report to Council that consolidates input from community members, Council and Administration, including Department Managers. The successful candidate will collate this input so that we will be left with a living document that will guide us into the foreseeable future.

The finished product will provide Council with the information needed to make well informed decisions in the years ahead.

4. PROJECT SCOPE

The scope of this project includes all research, development, community workshops, Council and staff workshops, and presentation of the report.

The selected bidder will be responsible for planning and conducting thorough research with assistance from Curve Lake Administration.

The following criteria must be met to achieve a successful project:

Thorough understanding of the Curve Lake First Nation;

Thorough input from the community, from Council, and from Administration

Thorough evaluation of the committee system

Thorough evaluation and assessment of a strategic vision for the community

5. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL AND PROJECT TIMELINE

Request for Proposal Timeline:

All proposals in response to this RFP are due no later than 12:00 pm (noon) EST, Thursday

January 10, 2019

Evaluation of proposals will be conducted from January 11 to January 18, 2019, if required. If additional information or discussions are needed with any bidders during this window, the bidder(s) will be notified.

The selection decision for the winning bidder will be made no later than January 21, 2019 Contract negotiations will be completed by January 23, 2019.

Notifications to bidders who were not selected will be completed by January 24, 2019.

Project Timeline:

Project must be completed by April 30, 2019.

6. BUDGET

All proposals must include proposed costs to complete the tasks described in the project

scope. These costs shall be itemized to included costs associated with travel, accommodations, workshops, production of reports as well as the overarching cost for conducting the work itemized above.

BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

Bidders should provide the following items as part of their proposal for consideration:

Description of experience in research and report writing

List of how many full time, part time, and contractor staff in your organization

Examples of other strategic plans/comprehensive community plans completed

Testimonials from past clients

Anticipated resources you will assign to this project (total number, role, title, experience)

Timeframe for completion of the project

Project management methodology

9. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA

Curve Lake First Nation will evaluate all proposals based on the following criteria. To ensure consideration for this Request for Proposal, your proposal should be complete and include all of the following criteria:

Overall proposal suitability: proposal must meet the scope and needs included herein and be presented in a clear and organized manner

Organizational Experience: Bidders will be evaluated on their experience as it pertains to the scope of this project

Previous work: Bidders will be evaluated on examples of their work pertaining First Nations and local government authorities

Value and cost: Bidders will be evaluated based on the work to be performed in accordance with the scope of this project

9. PREPARATION OF SOLICITATION

If a proposing company, individual, or subcontractor was involved in the preparation of the RFP solicitation that proposal is disqualified.

10. PRIVILEGE CLAUSES

Curve Lake First Nation reserves its right:

Not to award the contract;

Not to award the contract necessarily to the lowest priced bidder, but rather to the best“value”;

To conduct negotiations with one or more bidders in the event the negotiations with the first bidder are unsuccessful;

To conduct a survey of potential bidders to obtain clarification of their proposals as part of the evaluation process;

To cancel and reissue the RFP; and

To extend any deadlines and amend the proposal process.

11. EXCLUSIONARY CLAUSES

The proposal writer shall be liable for all costs associated with preparation and submission of the proposal up to the final award of the contract.

Curve Lake First Nation shall not be liable for any costs, expenses, loss or damage incurred, sustained or suffered by any bidder prior, or subsequent to, or by reason of the acceptance or the non-acceptance by CLFN of any proposal, or by reason of any delay in acceptance of a proposal, except as provided in the tender documents.